


Guardian Angel

by Lady_Sci_Fi



Series: A Life Together [8]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (1963), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 02:18:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,073
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17479358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Sci_Fi/pseuds/Lady_Sci_Fi
Summary: The Twelfth Doctor has a confession to make to Sarah.





	Guardian Angel

**Author's Note:**

> This story references the events of the final episode of the Big Finish Sarah Jane Smith audio series, "Dreamland."  
> I highly recommend listening to the series.

 Sarah’s brow furrowed at the sound of a guitar playing as she stepped out of her car in her driveway. She quickly determined the direction, and went to her back garden. She placed her hand on the gate to open it, and stopped to listen.

 In addition to the guitar, which sounded electric without an amplifier connected, a familiar voice quietly sang over it. Sarah shook her head with a smile before she pushed open the gate.

 The grey-haired Doctor didn’t act as though he suddenly had an audience, and continued on. Sarah simply stood and watched until he did stop and look up to her with a smile a minute or so later.

 “If you ever need to make some money on the side, that’s not a bad way,” she teased.

 The Doctor shrugged. “My position pays enough.”

 “Just a thought,” Sarah replied. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of finding you performing in my back garden?”

 “I thought I didn’t need a reason. It is a bit more comfortable and discreet than your doorstep.”

 “Fair enough. Would you like to come in?”

 The Doctor considered the option for a moment, strumming a few strings on his instrument before he grabbed it around the neck and stood. “Lead on.”

 Once inside, Sarah offered tea, which the Doctor accepted. He asked, “Is your Doctor around?”

 “No, he’s on a camping trip with the boys. Somewhere off Earth.” Sarah bit her lip suggestively. “Why? You want him away?”

 The Doctor seemed not quite sure what to make of his friend’s question and expression, until she broke into a grin and clarified, “I’m teasing.”

 “Oh, good. For a moment, I wasn’t-“ the Timelord cleared his throat, then followed her to the kitchen to help prepare tea.

 While they talked about whatever came to mind, including the Doctor’s recent lectures and students, Sarah got the sense that there was something he’d come to specifically talk to her about. She didn’t feel that it was something bad, but it did feel like it was something serious to him.

 One way she figured that was because of the guitar. She already knew he played, because he’d already brought it along with him a few times before. But whereas that had been for their entertainment, right now she had the sense he’d brought it because he was feeling a bit nervous about whatever he had to tell her. He just didn’t seem to be in an entertaining mood in regards to it.

 Further proof came after they had finished the tea and snack, when he grabbed his guitar and started to aimlessly strum it. Sarah let him for a couple minutes before she prompted, “Something on your mind?”

 The Doctor focused on her and remarked, “Perhaps I’ve visited you too much. You know me too well.”

 “You can’t play the mysterious act with me,” Sarah retorted. “Anything I should be worried about?”

 “No, it’s just… a confession, I suppose. Confession sounds like a good word, don’t you think?”

 “I haven’t heard whatever it is yet,” Sarah pointed out.

 “Yes, that would help you determine if that is indeed a good word for it.” The Timelord glanced towards the stairs. “Could we go to the attic?”

 “If you want.” Sarah took the man’s hand and led him up the stairs. He brought his guitar with him. “Are you nervous about something?”

 The Doctor shrugged, but the dismissive movement didn’t do anything to convince Sarah otherwise.

 They settled on a sofa together, and the Doctor immediately went back to strumming his guitar. Sarah let him until he was ready to talk.

 He strummed a chord, and as it rang out, he said, “The first time I saw you… this me, I mean… wasn’t when I came over soon after your Doctor arrived.”

 “I figured that, since you said you had been looking for a good point in both our timelines to let him come to me.”

 “Nothing gets past you, Sarah,” the Doctor chuckled. He strummed another chord, and took a deep breath. “The Dauntless.”

 Sarah froze, and was silent in shock until the chord faded out completely. “What did you say?”

 “2006, yes?”

 Sarah swallowed heavily. “Y-yes, but…” She closed her eyes as the memory of that disastrous space flight flooded into her mind. The day she had believed she would die, alone. The day she had lost a close friend, who had sacrificed himself for her, taking a bullet for her and bleeding out in her arms. Trapped in smoke and fire in a cold drifting spacecraft, telling her other close friend through the radio that there wasn’t any hope to survive…

 The Doctor looked down at his guitar momentarily. “I apologize for bringing up any traumatic memories.”

 “I’ve got a good share of those anyway,” Sarah tried to say dismissively, but her voice cracked halfway through. She cleared her throat. “The last thing… last thing I remember before I woke up in the Dreamland base hospital was… was something approaching from out the window. A bright light, slowly flashing. That’s all I could see of whatever it was. I-I felt… I felt… calm, somehow, despite being so certain I was going to die.” She blinked away a growing dampness in her eyes, and caught his blue-grey gaze. “I thought, afterwards, I’d been hallucinating it. Are you… are you telling me that was you?”

 The Doctor nodded, and set his guitar aside to scoot forward closer to the woman. “The drifting of the vessel threw off the Tardis, but I managed to get it right the next time, and materialized inside. I found the three of you. I couldn’t do anything for the other two, but…”

 “You took them home, too. Back to the Dreamland base, anyway.”

 The Doctor gave a solemn smile. “It was the kind thing to do, in addition to helping you survive.”

 “It was,” Sarah agreed. She let out a shuddering breath. “They told me, when I woke up, that they had found me, Josh, and… Kimmel, I believe it was… in the hospital, almost twelve hours after they had lost contact with the Dauntless. They had no explanation for it, and neither did I when they asked me.”

 “Now you do.” The Doctor asked with his eyes before he laid his hands over Sarah’s on the cushion between them. “I didn’t immediately return you there. I treated you in the Tardis infirmary to make certain you’d survive with minimal effects. The life-support systems on the vessel were a complete mess, and you were quite cold and suffering from asphyxiation.”

 “You don’t need to tell me every detail,” Sarah said before he could continue about her condition.

 “Sorry, I vividly remember it. Anyway, I then took you to the Dreamland hospital, set off an alarm in that room, and made sure no one would see the Tardis coming and going on security cameras.”

 “You saved me…” This time, Sarah couldn’t blink the tears away.

 “Of course I did.”

 “And you… you didn’t tell me, or give me any sign that you had?”

 “I couldn’t.” The Timelord’s hands around Sarah’s tightened slightly. “I had to keep our personal timelines in order. You wouldn’t know of me again until the next year.”

 Sarah closed her eyes and sighed heavily. “That’s right. Of course.”

 “I tend to be interested in your world’s space progress, anyway. I’d been following the news about the Dauntless’ progress when I found out who one of the passengers was. And when Dreamland lost contact with it, I wasn’t going to sit back and do nothing.”

 “Like a guardian angel…” Sarah cleared her throat and wiped her eyes. “It’s… I only wish you’d also been able to do something for Josh. I’ve told my Doctor how much losing him that day hurt. And you… you were there. You found us…” She was thankful that he didn’t say anything, and simply let her process everything.

 After a very long moment, she spoke again. “Why tell me this now?”

 “Because I’ve only just realized I hadn’t yet.”

 “Like when you realized you hadn’t apologized for leaving me in Aberdeen?” Sarah attempted to joke.

 “Like that, yes. And I thought you definitely deserved to know. You’ve lived with that mystery long enough.”

 Sarah nodded her appreciation. She kept her hand between his, but looked to the side away from him. Her attention was brought back to several seconds later.

 “That wasn’t the first time I saw you.”

 “What?”

 “I’ve lived here about fifty years.”

 Sarah’s brow rose as she understood. “You’ve been watching over me all that time?”

 “You, and a few others who are within that time period and don’t require much travel from me.”

 “When was the first time, then?”

 The Doctor smiled warmly. “You would’ve been around sixteen years old. I think that’s all I’ll say about it.”

 It had the desired effect of lightening the mood, and Sarah chuckled and swatted his forearm. “Alright, keep that mystery to yourself.” Then she practically pounced on him into a tight embrace.

 The Doctor fell back with her momentum, and wrapped his arms around her in return. He lowered his nose to her hair as she buried her face into his neck.

 ********

 They had both lost track of time, though they were aware that night had fallen. They had resettled on the sofa with Sarah sitting up and relaxing back, with the Doctor lying on his back, with his head on her lap. He played slow melodies on his guitar, occasionally humming along.

 The sound of the materializing Tardis had the Doctor start to sit up, but Sarah tapped his shoulder to communicate that she didn’t want him to get up.

 “Seriously, coolest camping trip,” Clyde stated as he stepped out. Then he saw the pair on the couch and stopped short in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at the intimacy of their position. “Hello, Sarah Jane, and mystery man.”

 The Doctor on the sofa gave an airy wave in greeting.

 Luke and the younger Doctor emerged, and Luke took the presence of the other man in stride. “We had a great trip,” he said to his mother.

 Sarah smiled at the three. “I’m sure I’ll hear all about it tomorrow.”

 The brunette Doctor raised his brow at the other one. “You’ve got a sense of timing.”

 “I could say the same about you,” the grey-haired one retorted.

 Clyde and Luke awkwardly glanced between Sarah and the two men. Clyde turned to Luke and prompted, “Spend the night at my place, yeah?”

 “Sure,” Luke accepted. “See you at breakfast, Mum, Doctor?”

 Sarah smiled and nodded. “See you two tomorrow.”

 When the two young men left, the brown-haired Timelord approached the sofa and tapped the other’s ankle. With a theatrical huff, the older one lifted his legs enough for the younger one to sit.

 “Serenading Sarah, were you?” Sarah’s husband inquired when he settled and his counterpart put his legs down over his lap.

 “Why not? I don’t remember you being the serenading type.”

 “Yes, well, that was a long time ago for you. Perhaps your memory is going?”

 “Boys…” Sarah chuckled in amusement. She answered her husband, “He came over to chat, and to make a confession.”

 “A confession?” The younger Doctor didn’t at all hide his curiousity, and stared down at the man still picking at the guitar strings.

 “He’s been a guardian angel to me, going back farther than I originally thought.”

 The brown-haired man hummed and patted the grey-haired one’s hand on the fret board. “I see. I’m glad one of us was looking out for her.”

 The older man nodded. “So, camping trip? Now there’s an idea. Where to?”

 Sarah tipped her head back and smiled softly at her husband’s hand gently grabbing hers before he started telling them where’d they’d been and what they’d done.

 Sarah was very grateful that her friend had given her closure on what had been one of, if not the most traumatic event she had suffered after being separated from him. To know he’d been there, he’d helped, saved her… and now told her what had happened… It had hurt to remember that day, but had also done some good.

 Even if the Doctor would never call himself a guardian angel, Sarah now knew she’d had one looking out for her from the shadows for most of her life. How very fortunate she was.


End file.
